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ConnectaLEARNING PACK 9 | TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES

Contents

1. Translation 1

2. Method vs Techniques 1

3. Translation Methods 1

3.1. Foreignisation 1-2

3.2. Domestication 2-3

3.3. Neutralisation 3

3.4. Exercise 1 4

4. Translation Techniques 5

4.1. Borrowing 5

4.1.1. Exercise 2 5

4.2. Calque 5-6

4.2.1. Exercise 3 6

4.3. Literal translation 7

4.3.1. Exercise 4 7-8

4.4. Transposition 8

4.4.1. Exercise 5 8

4.5. Modulation 9

4.5.1. Exercise 6 9

4.6. Equivalence or Reformulation 10

4.6.1. Exercise 7 10

5. Glossary 11-12

6. Self-assessment 12-13

7. References 13

1. Translation

What is translation?

Translation is the process in which we replace an original written or spoken text in one

language with its equivalent in another language. This original text is commonly known as

the Source Text (ST), whereas its equivalent in another language is referred to as the Target

Text (TT).

The purpose of translating is making these source texts available to as many people as

possible. However, the disparity that exists amongst the different languages and cultures

makes translation a complex process. For this reason, translators must be not only bilingual

or multilingual but also have bicultural and multicultural awareness. Some of the most

challenging factors while translating are maintaining the same meaning and style, as well as

finding equivalence for proverbs and idioms, for instance. It is always recommended to be

familiarised with different approaches that can make the translation process easier.

2. Method vs Techniques

There are overall approaches that can be applied to the whole text; these can be defined as

methods, approaches or strategies. It is essential not to confuse these methods with

translation techniques. While methods are applied to the whole text, techniques may vary

from sentence to sentence, depending on the difficulties or challenges that we encounter.

3. Translation Methods

3.1 Foreignisation

Foreignisation could be defined as being as close to the source text as possible in terms of

maintaining the culture-specific items of the source text, e.g. personal names, streets,

national cuisine, etc. Below you have an example of a sentence that has been translated

with a foreignisation approach:

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Source text (English): When he was a child, he loved the Christmas decorations and the

surprises hidden in Christmas Crackers.

Target text (Spanish): Cuando era niño le encantaban los adornos de Navidad y las sorpresas

que escondían los Christmas Crackers.

Target text (French): Quand il était enfant, il aimait les décorations de Noël et les surprises

cachées dans les Christmas Crackers.

Target text (German): Als er ein Kind war, liebte er die Weihnachtsdekorationen und die

Überraschungen, die in den „Christmas Crackers“ versteckt waren.

Advantages of foreignisation:

● It emphasises the diversity that exists between different cultures and

languages and exposes the target audience to other cultures.

● It preserves the style and cultural references of the source text.

Disadvantages of foreignisation:

● Some readers might not be familiar with foreign terms and references and

may feel that the text is too obscure.

3.2 Domestication

Domestication, on the other hand, aims at eliminating or replacing any cultural or linguistic

reference that may prevent the target audience from understanding the target text

completely. A domestication approach is normally used when translating content related to

comedy programmes or content for children. Taking the example above:

Source text (English): When he was a child, he loved the Christmas decorations and the

surprises hidden in Christmas Crackers.

Target text (Spanish): Cuando era niño le encantaban los adornos de Navidad y los turrones.

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Target text (French): Quand il était enfant, il aimait les décorations de Noël et la bouche de

Noël.

Target text (German): Als er ein Kind war, liebte er die Weihnachtsdekorationen und die

Weihnachtskekse.

Advantages of domestication:

● It emphasises the similarity that exists between languages.

● It creates a fluid and natural text that is easy to understand.

Disadvantages of domestication:

● It may disregard the culture of origin and the identity of the author.

3.3 Neutralisation

The midway approach is known as neutralisation. With this method, you include a

generalised term or description to explain a cultural reference. The aim is to transfer the

cultural message from the source text to the target text while making sure that the target

text is idiomatic and natural. If foreignisation and domestication are considered opposites of

one another, neutralisation is a midpoint. For instance:

Source text (English): When he was a child, he loved the Christmas decorations and the

surprises hidden in Christmas Crackers.

Target text (Spanish): Cuando era niño le encantaban los adornos de Navidad y las

costumbres navideñas británicas.

Target text (French): Quand il était enfant, il aimait les décorations de Noël et les coutumes

de Noël britanniques.

Target text (German): Als er ein Kind war, liebte er die Weihnachtsdekorationen und die

englischen Weihnachtsbräuche.

Advantages of neutralisation :

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● It creates an idiomatic text that is easy to understand.

● It does not completely disregard the source culture.

Disadvantages of neutralisation :

It partly eliminates the cultural elements of the source text.

3.4 Exercise 1

E1, Q1: Does your screenplay have any cultural references (e.g. names, places, references to

celebrities, TV programmes, etc.)? If so, which method will you use to translate them and

why? (Tip: if you don’t have any cultural references in your screenplay, you might want to

use this exercise to add some).

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

E1, Q2: Using the space below, note down and translate at least three sentences of your

screenplay that contain cultural references, try to do this using always the method you have

chosen.

Sentence 1:

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Sentence 2:

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Sentence 3:

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

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4. Translation Techniques

As mentioned above, translation techniques are a series of different strategies that you

might apply throughout your translation depending on the difficulties that you encounter.

Below you have six translation techniques that can help you to translate your screenplay.

4.1 Borrowing

Borrowing is taking words directly from one language into another without translating

them. Many English words are "borrowed" into other languages, e.g. selfie or software.

However, English also borrows words from other languages, e.g. café (from French), tortilla

(Mexican Spanish) and kindergarten (German).

4.1.1 Exercise 2

E2,Q1: Can you think of other borrowed words from other languages we use on a daily

basis?

__________________________________________________________________________

E2, Q2: Have you used any borrowed words in your screenplay? If so, use the space below

to refine your translations for these sentences.

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

4.2 Calque

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A calque is a phrase borrowed from another language and translated literally word-for-

word. An example of words that have been adopted into English as calques are: blue-blood

(sangre azul, Spanish), killer whale (ballena asesina, Spanish), antibody (antikörper,

German), standpoint (standpunkt, German), point of view (point de vue, French), Adam's

apple (pomme d'Adam, French).

An example of words that have been adopted into foreign languages from English: disque

dur (hard disk), rascacielos (skyscraper) and Fußball (football). While using calques, you

must be aware of “false friends”, which are words in two languages that look similar, or

sound similar, but have different meanings from one another. For example:

English Spanish

Carpet Carpeta (folder)

Embarrassed Embarazada (pregnant)

Large Largo (long)

English French

Money Monnaie

Blessed Blessé

Bras Bras

English German

Rat Der Rat

Smoking Der smoking

To wink Winken

4.2.1 Exercice 3

E3, Q1: Can you think of other calques we use on a daily basis?

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

E3, Q2: Can you think of other “false friends” to avoid during your translation?

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___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

4.3 Literal translation

A literal translation is a word-for-word translation. However, this technique can be only

used in certain languages or sentences, where the original meaning will not be altered and

the translation will still sound idiomatic. Literal translations usually work best for simple

sentences, for instance:

● English-French : My mum works/Ma mère travaille.

● English-Spanish: My mum works/Mi mamá trabaja.

● English-German: My mum works/Meine Mutter arbeitet.

However, many simple sentences cannot be translated word for word:

English Literal Translation Correct Translation

French I am 16. Je suis 16. J'ai 16 ans

Spanish I am 16. Soy 16. Tengo 16 años.

German I am going. Ich bin gehen/gehend.

Ich gehe im Moment.

When it comes to complex and longer sentences it is normally best to use other techniques.

4.3.1 Exercise 4

E4, Q1: Select three short and simple sentences from your screenplay and translate them

using a literal translation approach. Does it work well or perhaps you need to make

changes?

Sentence 1:

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

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Sentence 2:

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Sentence 3:

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

4.4 Transposition

Transposition involves changing words from one grammatical category to another without

altering the meaning of the text. In other words, this translation technique introduces a

change in grammatical structure. Transposition is usually applied to sentences that would

not sound idiomatic if they were to be translated literally. For example:

● English-French: I called you early this week/Je t’a appelé au début de cette semaine.

● English-Spanish: He likes swimming / Le gusta la natación. Here, swimming is a verb

but natación is a noun.

● English-German: He likes swimming /Er schwimmt gern.

4.4.1 Exercise 5

E5, Q1: Select two sentences from your screenplay and translate them using a transposition

approach.

Sentence 1:

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Sentence 2:

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

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4.5 Modulation

Modulation consists of using a different phrase in the source and target languages to convey

the same idea. Through modulation, the translator generates a change in viewpoint of the

message without altering meaning and without creating a sense of awkwardness for the

reader of the target text:

● English-French: It’s easy to understand/ C’est pas difficile à comprendre.

● English-Spanish: It’s easy to understand/ No es difícil de comprender.

● You could translate this literally: Es fácil de entender (It’s easy to understand), but

depending on the context (perhaps somebody is talking to a child and does not want

to sound harsh) you might prefer to change the message slightly (It is not difficult to

understand).

● English-German: It’s easy to understand/ Es ist leicht zu verstehen.

4.5.1 Exercise 6

E6,Q1: Select three sentences from your screenplay and translate them using a modulation

approach.

Sentence 1:

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Sentence 2:

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Sentence 3:

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___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

4.6 Equivalence or reformulation

Equivalence or reformulation uses a completely different expression to transmit the same

meaning. It is normally used to translate idioms and content related to culture. For instance:

● English-French: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush/ Un chien vivant vaut

mieux qu'un lion mort.

● English-Spanish: Fresh as a cucumber / Fresco como una lechuga.

● English – Spanish: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush/ Más vale pájaro en

mano que ciento volando.

● English-German: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush/ Besser ein Spatz (a

sparrow) in der Hand als eine Taube (a dove) auf dem Dach.

4.6.1 Exercise 7

E7, Q1: Select two sentences from your screenplay and translate them using equivalence or

reformulation. (Tip: if you don’t have any sentences in your screenplay that can be

translated using a reformulation approach, you might want to use this exercise to add

some).

Sentence 1:

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Sentence 2:

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

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5. Glossary

English Español Français Deutsch

Borrowing Enfoque Emprunter die Direktentlehnung

to borrow = leihen

Calque Préstamo Calque die Lehnübersetzung

Domestication Calco Naturalisation die Domestizierung

Equivalence Domesticación Equivalence die Äquivalenz

Foreignisation Equivalencia Exotisation die Verfremdung

Literal Translation Extranjerización Traduction littérale die wortgetreue Übersetzung

Approach Traducción literal Approche der Ansatz

Method Método Méthode die Methode

Modulation Modulación Modulation die Modulation

(die Perspektivenverschiebung)

Reformulation Reformulación Reformulation die Umformulierung

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Source Text Texto de origen Texte Source der Ausgangstext

Strategy Estrategia Stratégie die Strategie

Target Text Texto meta Texte cible der Zieltext

Technique Técnica Technique die Technik

Translation Traducción Traduction die Übersetzung

Transposition Transposición Transposition die Transposition

(der Wortartwechsel)

6. Self-assessment

After completing the exercises, tick the column that best represents how you feel about the

following statements:

Not at all

confident

Nearly

there

Very

confident

1 I understand what translation is and its purpose.

2 I am aware of the difference between translation techniques

for single sentences and translation methods applied to the

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whole text.

3 I know how to apply the different translation methods to my

texts.

4 I have an idea of the advantages and disadvantages of each

translation method.

5 I can name at least four translation techniques.

6 I know how to apply the different translation techniques to my

texts.

7. References● Mathieu (2016) 7 Translation Techniques to Facilitate Your Work. Available at:

https://culturesconnection.com/7-translation-techniques/ .

● Ordudari, M. (2007) Translation procedures, strategies and methods. Translation

Journal. 11 Available at: https://translationjournal.net/journal/41culture.htm.

● Umamaheshwari, J. Techniques and methods of translation. Iosr. pp.40-42. Available

at: http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/Conf.TS/Volume-1/15.%2040-

42.pdf.

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